In Linköping, southern Sweden, municipal utility company Tekniska verken has commissioned one of Europe’s most advanced sorting plants for mixed municipal and household waste. The aim of the investment is to return more recyclable materials to the cycle and reduce the amount of thermal recycling.
The plant was planned by Dutch plant manufacturer BANZO as the system integrator and completed within eleven months. For the processing technology, Tekniska verken relies on screening technology from the German manufacturer SPALECK, which precisely classifies the material flow and thus optimizes the efficiency of the subsequent sorting processes.
Goal: More recycling, less incineration
“This plant is a big step for us,” says Kristian Elisson, Plant Manager at Tekniska verken. “Our goal is clear: to return as many materials as possible to the material cycle – and thus minimize the proportion of thermal recycling.”
The sorting process is fully automated. The plant processes up to 40 tons per hour and is designed for an annual capacity of around 200,000 tons. Five fractions are sorted: plastics, paper/cardboard, ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, and organic components. Recovery rates are high, at around 92.8% for mixed plastics, 93.1% for paper, 94.1% for ferrous metals, and 88.0% for non-ferrous metals. A special technical feature is the 250-meter-long conveyor bridge, which transfers the non- recyclable residual waste directly to two neighboring waste-to-energy plants.
SPALECK screening technology as the key
Four screening machines from SPALECK take care of the precise classification of the material. A Recycling Waste Screen is installed upstream of the shredder and ensures that only large material enters the shredding process – this saves energy and reduces wear. Two additional screening machines prepare the material for sorting and, with their three-dimensional screening technology, create the conditions for precise grain distribution and uniform distribution. The Flip-Flow Screening Machine reduces the sorting technology’s workload by removing moist fine grain particles, thereby improving the performance of the downstream units.
“Our screening machines classify and distribute the material flow precisely so that the sorting devices can detect and recover the material optimally,” explains Markus Döbbelt, Technical Sales at SPALECK. “This is how ‘best screening’ truly becomes ‘best sorting’.”
Kristian Ellison, Production Manager at Tekniska verken: ‘Our goal is clear: we want to recover as many materials as possible.’
Benchmark for MSW recycling
In addition to the screening technology, a pre-shredder, 14 NIR sorting devices, three magnetic separators, three eddy current separators, and an X-ray sorter are also used.
BANZO took over the overall coordination with all the companies involved. The basis for this was a central control and interface concept that maps mechanics, electrical engineering, and digital integration. “This plant is not a copy-and-paste solution,” emphasizes Marcel Kroon, CEO of BANZO. “It is the result of intensive dialogue with the customer – and with partners such as SPALECK, with whom we have been successfully implementing demanding MSW projects for years.”
In addition to three Recycling Waste Screens, a SPALECK Flip-Flow Screen is also used. It separates the fine fraction and improves the efficiency of the downstream eddy current and NIR sorting systems.
Presentation at IFAT 2026
BANZO and SPALECK will present the project at IFAT 2026 in Munich.
Further information is available at: www.spaleck.de
Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCWvFeau4wQ
